And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised – Matthew 27:51-52
As we enter Holy Week, we are about to reach the pinnacle of our Lenten adventure. This Palm Sunday, we follow Jesus as He enters Jerusalem to praises of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9). St. Matthew wrote something curious about Jesus’s regal entry: “And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, ‘Who is this?’” (21:10). The city was shaken, seio in the original Greek. It means to shake or cause to tremble. All the people trembled with fear at Jesus’s presence.
We hear the very same word later at the end of Christ’s Passion: “And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked (seio), rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (27:51-52). The people quaked when Jesus entered Jerusalem; the earth itself quaked when He departed in death.
The trembling of the people and the earth were responses to Jesus’s true identity. First, some of the people of Jerusalem recognized that He is the Messiah. Others said, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee” (21:11). At His death, the Roman guards recognized the truth of Jesus’s identity immediately after the earthquake: “The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God!’” (27:54).
Reflecting on how these people and the very earth responded to Jesus causes me to consider if His presence instills a holy fear in me. Do I have profound respect and reverence for Jesus’s Holy name? When I receive Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, do I tremble with fear at the reality of His kingship, His glory, His identity as the Son of God? Or have I become complacent and forgetful at the true power that I receive?
Jesus, I tremble at Your holy Presence. Grant me the virtue of fear of the Lord not so that I may be afraid of You, but so that I may give you the honor and respect that You are due. May I never be complacent and forgetful of all You are and all You have done for me.